Join us for a free show with the SF Library at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell on May 3!
New music: Ambient-techno-footwork-Baltimore club mashup like only Tomu DJ can do it, plus a sweet synth pop EP from Lauren Matsui of Seablite and Neutrals
White Crate is partnering with Bay Beats, the SF library’s free local music streaming platform, to present a free show at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell!
Artists and set times:
2:30 - Mae Powell - tender psych
3:30 - Piwai - neo-afropop
4:30 - The Grease Traps - funk & soul
Kicking off its third year, Bay Beats is an integral part of the Bay Area music scene. In celebration of the program’s 2025 submissions round, this diverse show reflects the wide range of music available on the Bay Beats platform.
Reminder for artists: Bay Beats is open for submissions until May 31! Not only does Bay Beats pay artists exponentially more ($250 honorarium) than the usual streaming suspects, but it also provides artists with a new audience of Bay Area music lovers.
— White Crate
AMBIENT TWERK
“Will you stay on top? That’s the real question”
Ambient techno for backyard and bedroom twerkers, MTP is the latest full-length by Tomu DJ, adding a diverse collection of club-inspired tracks to the artist’s continuously shapeshifting discography. The new work includes tightly satisfying breaks (“I Need Space”), repetitive and cut-up vocal looped samples a la Baltimore club (“Your Body,” “Real Question”), and a couple brief instrumental interludes that set the comfy cozy stay-at-home-but-kinda-wanna-party vibes (“MTP,” “Become One”).
If underground albums had hit radio singles, the honor here would go to “Firm Grip,” the latest hooky collaboration between Tomu DJ and Brooklyn rapper Petty Getty. MTP also features collaborations with YoungLove Erix, SF producer 40split, and Chicago footwork producer DJ Manny.
See Tomu DJ performing the new album at Oakland Secret this Saturday, April 19 as part of West Oakland Music Festival, also featuring Bastiengoat, Bored Lord, De Alma, SOBA, Soulox, and TUGBOYZ.
— Ronny Kerr
NEW WAVE DELIGHT
Synth pop lovers will surely delight in the short and sweet new EP I Dream Watching by Rhymies, out now on Dandy Boy Records. Rhymies is a new project by Lauren Matsui, who already plays in a couple great local bands (the shoegazy Seablite and the punky Neutrals), but her new solo project is the sweetest and poppiest of the three.
Written, arranged, sequenced, and recorded at home in her living room, the new EP centers Matsui’s voice against a lush, upbeat backdrop of nostalgic electro pop and new wave. Gentle and pleasant with an unmistakable tinge of melancholy, it taps into the feeling of listening to Eurythmics and Depeche Mode—or, locally, think Cold Beat and Yama Uba.
And then see Matsui play with Seablite at the Great American Music Hall on Saturday, May 24 for the Total Accord concert series, also featuring performances by Mild Universe, System Exclusive, Grooblen, Luke Sweeney, Hugo De La Lune, and Isabeau Waia’u Walker.
— Ronny Kerr
SHOW RECS
Our top show recommendations for the coming week:
[experimental] GRAY/V ft. Jerod S. Rivera, Elias FS, Cat Lauigan, Kahj & Versâam — April 17 at Gray Area
[electronic] Tycho, HABITAAT, Torie — April 17 at Public Works
[hip hop] SMARTBOMB ft. Fatboi Sharif / Icky Reels, Mars Kumari, Squadda B — April 18 at the Lab
[club] PROGRAM ft. Safety Trance, erika, DJ JUANNY, Lil Bebe Cyborg, Guerrilla Pump, Mars Kasei — April 18 at F8
[electronic] WEST OAKLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL ft. Bastiengoat, Bored Lord, De Alma, SOBA, Soulox, Tomu DJ, TUGBOYZ — April 19 at Oakland Secret
[experimental] Fallen Matter, Only Now, Nebuchadnezzar — April 19 at 428 Waller St
[jazz] Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids — April 19 at the Lab
[hip hop] LaRussell, Lyfe Jennings — April 20 at the Midway
[ambient] "Music for Cats to Nap to" Sound Bath — April 20 at Cat Town
[country] Levi Thomas, Forest Ray, Country Risqué — April 20 at Thee Stork Club
[doom] Whine covering "Dopesmoker" in its entirety, Joshua (classical guitar) — April 20 at the Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room
[alternative] Yama Uba, Foglamp, Gnomes, Xay Cole — April 22 at the Knockout
[alternative] Marika Christine, Forest Ray, Indianna Hale — April 22 at Bottom of the Hill
[alternative] The Breathing Room, Night Heron, Otoliths — April 23 at Kilowatt
[jazz] Gary Bartz — April 23-24 at Yoshi’s
GET TICKETS TO TOTAL ACCORD!
We’re co-hosting an epic celebration of Bay Area music, showcasing amazing local talent at six awesome shows across four of our favorite venues. Get tickets →
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